{"id":961,"date":"2010-01-28T20:48:54","date_gmt":"2010-01-29T04:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=961"},"modified":"2023-01-17T16:19:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T00:19:31","slug":"drive-by-movie-review-district-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id961-drive-by-movie-review-district-9.html","title":{"rendered":"Drive-By Movie Review: District 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a review of the 2009 movie District 9 <\/em>starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and Luis Minnaar<\/p>\n

Plot Summary<\/strong><\/a>: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> District 9<\/em> is the debut science fiction film from South African writer-director Neill Blomkamp, and I’ve got to say he really hit a home run on his first trip to the plate, so to speak.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>Well, I never heard of him. But the story was<\/em> really good.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> I bet you never heard of any of the actors either.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Should I?<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>Not unless you happen to be a fan of the South African movie scene – although as I understand it this was the big screen debut of Sharlto Copley, who played the film’s protagonist, Wikus Van Der Merwe.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>Gesundheit!<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>Cute.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>Before you get too under-the-weather, you really should give a quick run-down of the storyline.<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>Okay. In 1982 a gargantuan spaceship comes to rest over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa – but the expected invasion never materializes. After awhile, it becomes apparent that something is wrong and so a team of humans breaks into the apparently disabled ship and discovers a population of emaciated and stranded alien creatures. The aliens, nicknamed prawns by the humans because of their appearance, are soon thereafter put into a refugee camp in Johannesburg known as District 9, and it quickly becomes a slum-like no-man’s land similar to the Big Apple in Escape From New York<\/em>. Cut to the present day, where a defense corporation known as Multi-National United (MNU) is contracted to move the alien population from District 9 to fresh new digs further from the city, and Wikus is put in charge of the forced-relocation operation. Unfortunately for Wikus, during the opening phases of the campaign he is exposed to a hazardous alien liquid.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>“Unfortunately?” That’s an understatement, don’t you think? That liquid ends up reacting with his own DNA!<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong> That it does. Soon after his exposure, Wikus begins undergoing a hideous Fly<\/em>-like transformation. Making matters worse, MNU realizes that his transformation will give them the ability to crack the code that has previously prevented them from using the aliens super-weapons.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>That’s when they begin a massive manhunt to capture him.<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>With his body gruesomely sprouting alien parts, Wikus quickly finds himself to be a human outcast. His only hope to save himself is to return to District 9 and work with the prawns on their terms. It is here, in the final 45 minutes of the film, where the movie really shines. The story becomes a gripping race against time, and is bolstered by some absolutely terrific action sequences.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>The visual effects were awesome!<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> I agree. Dare I say they were right up there with Star Trek<\/em>? They were so good that I find it hard to believe that this movie was made on what today is considered a shoe-string budget of only $30 million. What’s even more remarkable is that unlike most movies that have a lot of special effects, this movie actually tried to make a point.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> What do you mean?<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> What do you mean, “what do you mean?” <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> I’m sorry – am I speaking an alien tongue here? You know what I mean when I say “what do you mean.”<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> No need to get mean. It’s pretty obvious that District 9<\/em> was a platform for political commentary regarding Apartheid <\/span>using the man versus alien story line as an allegory.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Unlike our last movie review for The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3<\/a>, I’m glad you’re actually reviewing this film, but would you do me a favor?<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>What’s that?<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Please don’t turn this review into an English lit class.<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>Sorry. So, did you like District 9<\/em> or not?<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>Weren’t you listening to me? I just told you a minute ago that I thought the story was really really good. And you are right: the special effects were awesome – especially in the last half of the movie when we saw the power behind those alien weapons.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Was there anything you didn’t like about the movie?<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Oh yeah. I thought the story was totally unbelievable.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> This from somebody who can’t wait for the next Harry Potter<\/em> movie.<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Come on. I mean really. Aliens living in a refugee camp in Africa? They want me to believe the aliens could jump 10 feet in the air but yet couldn’t escape from a refugee camp that was surrounded by a flimsy fence made of barbed wire? Please. And then what about all those crazy alien weapons: Why didn’t the prawns use them on the humans to escape and take over the world?<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>So you liked the story even though it was unbelievable – and you enjoyed the movie anyway?<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Yep. I really enjoyed it! I rate District 9<\/em> “a buy.”<\/p>\n

Me: <\/strong>As do I. So tell me: Does it bother you whenever you watch a Harry Potter<\/em> movie that he rides a broom and can conjure up magic spells?<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Harry Potter<\/em> is a fantasy movie. District 9<\/em> is sci-fi.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> …<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong>Hey, don’t start getting philosophical again with me.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Fine, I think we’re done here. But I wouldn’t necessarily classify District 9<\/em> as “sci-fi.”<\/p>\n

The Honeybee:<\/strong> Then what would<\/em> you call it?<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Well, since you asked, I’d classify it as “hard-core prawn.”<\/p>\n

The Honeybee: <\/strong> Oh, God. You’re not going to print that are you?<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Not me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a review of the 2009 movie District 9 starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and Luis Minnaar Plot Summary: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology. Me: District 9 is the debut science fiction film […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[476],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-movie-review","7":"pmpro-has-access","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nDrive-By Movie Review: District 9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id961-drive-by-movie-review-district-9.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drive-By Movie Review: District 9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is a review of the 2009 movie District 9 starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and Luis Minnaar Plot Summary: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology. 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